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Hiotographic 

Sciences 
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The 

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empreinte. 

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dernidre  image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
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illustrent  la  mdthode. 


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■> 


THE 


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NIAGARA  SHIP  CAML 


ITS 


MILITARY  AND  COMMERCIAL 
NECESSITY. 


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THE 


lAGAKA  SHIP  CANAL: 


ITS 


IILITARY  AND  COMMERCIAL 


NECESSITY. 


i 


KEW    YOKE, 
1863. 


K«iS»?*W«'Bi»eEiJ2W'«*t'-  i-^-'-j-aSatfets— 


> 


NIAGARA  SHIP  CANAL, 

ITS  MILITARY  AND   COMMERCIAL  NI-rESSIlT. 


^' 


IST. — ITS    MILITARY    NKGESblTY. 

This  great  enterprise  has  claimed  the  attei;';-'!!  of  the 
General  Guverurnent  for  uiaDy  yeart<,  and  nnmer<>na 
Committees  of  Conii-ress  liave  recommended  ii  ..s  a  w  ork 
truly  National  iu  its  character,  and  detnan!-."!  Isv  iht 
hij^hest  considerations  of  public  interest. 

Many  8ur\(^ys  have  been  made  of  the  work,  nil  >i:uw- 
ins  its  entire  feasibilitv.  Amonff  the  most  elaborate  and 
reliable  of  these  surveys,  is  that  made  under  ilie  direction 
of  the  General  Government,  in  183G,  by  the  lato  Caj'tain 
Wm.  G.Williams,  of  the  United  States  Engineer  Corps,  an 
officer  of  distinguished  ability  and  high  pr*.-ro.-s!u!ial  at- 
tainments, [lis  Report,  with  survey  and  cptimntcs,  h 
contained  in  Doeunient  No.  214  IL  R.  24th  (nug.  let  kiesa. 
It  strongly  recommends  the  construction  of  the  work  as 
"  a  measure  of  military  tlefence,  and  great  commercial 
importance.''  The  estimated  cost  of  the  Canal,  one  hun- 
dred and  lifty  feet  wide  at  the  surface,  with  locks  two 
hundred  feet  long  and  fifty  feet  wide,  to  pass  vessels 
drawing  ton  feet,  varies  from  three  and  a  half  to  five  rnd 
a  half  millions  of  dollars,  according  to  the  line  adopted, 
the  shortest  line  being  less  than  eight  miles.  The  an- 
nexed Map,  No.  1,  exhibits  the  several  propoeed  routes. 

The  advance  in  the  price  of  labor,  since  the  report  was 
made,  will,  of  course,  increase  somewhat  the  cost  of  the 
work  ;  but  the  estimates  of  Captain  Williams  are  conclu- 


' — « 


THE    NI.VOAUA    ^IIIP    OANAL. 


sivc.  tiiat  it  can  he  (•.«.»! istructed  at  a  niodurato  cost,  com- 
pared with  the  great  benefits  it  wonlil  seeure  to  the 
country. 

Local  jtialoiisies,  and  /apjr.e  and  oxtrava<:^ant  ideas  as  to 
tlie  expenditure  required  to  ooinj^h.te  this  Canal,  with  an 
overweenijiii;  eiMilidence  that  the  peaceful  relations  so 
lung  existing  lictwce!)  our  (Toverninent  and  that  of  Great 
Britain,  »veiv  mu  likely  to  be  di^^iurh^'i,  have  all  con- 
sj)ired  to  delay  it,  till  at  length  its  military  and  conuner- 
cial  neeesRiry  have  become  palpable  and  imminent. 

Tiie  (loverument  of  the  United  States  has  rested  su- 
pinely f<,*r  near  half  a  century  under  the  disalnlities  for 
the  defence  of  the  Lake  Frontier,  imposed  by  the  treaty 
of  1817  wiih  England,  by  which  tlie  naval  force  of  each 
(Tovernment,  on  the  I^akes,  was  restricted  to  one  vessel,  of 
not  over  one  hundred  tons,  carrying  a  single  gun,  for  Lake 
Ontario,  and  not  to  exceed  two  vessels  of  like  size  and 
armament  fur  all  the  Upper  Lakes.  But  the  British 
Governmcat  has  been  pursuing,  steadily  and  effectively, 
a  policy  looking  to  the  command  of  the  Lakes,  by  u  suffi- 
cient navaJ  force,  whenever  she  chooses  to  assert  it. 

Since  tfie  ^r-.^atv  of  ISIJ.  she  lia;?  oonrtructed  the  Tvidcau 
Canal,  avowedly  a  military  work,  connecting  Montreal 
with  Kingston,  on  Lake  Ontario,  by  an  interior  route, 
with  locks  one  l.-undred  and  thirty-three  feet  long  and 
thirty-three  feet  wi«Je,  well  calculated  to  pass  large  gun- 
boats in  balbist ;  and  the  St.  Lawrence  Canals,  connecting 
the  san\e  p"int8,  with  locks  two  hundred  feet  lung  and 
forty-live  fei't  wide,  to  pass  gun-boats  drawing  nine  feet. 
She  has  also  constructed  the  Welland  Canal,  connecting 
Lake  Ontario  with  the  Upper  Lakes,  with  locks  one  hun- 
dred and  forty -five  feet  long  and  twenty-six  i'eet  wide,  to 
pass  gunboats  drawing  ten  i'eet. 

Theso  Canals  have  cost  little  less  than  twenty  millions 
of  dollars,  and  still  another  Ship  Canal  is  projected  b; 
the  Canadian  Government,  between  the  city  of  Montreal 
and  the  Georgian  Bay,  on  Lake  Huron.     By  this  route, 
Lake  Michigan  and  Lake  Superior,  with  their  vast  tonnage 


II 


TUK    NlAftAKA    SIIII'    (lANAL.  5 

of  a<,'rieukural  and  iniDoral  frcighl,  will  lu-  brouiiht  305 
miles  nearer  to  the  city  ofMontreal,  than  they  now  are  by 
by  tliu  Lake  and  Erie  canal  to  tide  water  on  the  Hudson. 

Through  her  Canals,  already  constriictid,  the  IJritisb 
Governuient  can  pass  gun  boats,  of  the  inosr  e'.lieicnt  si/e 
now  in  use,  from  Moiitreal  to  Ivingstoii  in  twenty  lour 
hours,  aiid  to  Laki;  Erie  in  less  lliati  forry-eight  hours. 
She  has,  luoreovor,  e^lal)]ished  and  nKiii'taihs,  in  conne'''- 
tion  with  these  Canals,  largo  naval  ■'.(.■jiul>-  ar  Kingston,  on 
Lake  Ontario;  at  ^MaMen.  ^m  Like  Erie,  ai'.'  at  l\'n:Uan- 
irashine,  on  the  Geor<>ian  Lav  ;  fhu.v  ki'oi*ii.ir  in  ron- 
stant  preparation  for  ellieienr  u..\-:\\  oporalions  on  all  the 
great  Lakes.  She  is,  in  fact,  about  as  well  prepared  for 
offensive  war  on  the  Lakes  as  she  (vnild  h;iv-  been  if  the 
treaty  of  1817  had  limited  the  na\;d  force  of  the  United 
States,  as  it  now  does,  and  left  the  British  Governtnent  at 
liberty  to  build  and  lit  out  V(!ssel6  of  war  us  slie  pleased 
in  all  her  Lake  ports. 

When,  in  ISHl,  jn  consoiiuence  of  the  seizure  ©f  the 
rebel  loaders,  Mason  and  Slidell,  on  the  British  steamer 
Trent,  war  betweL^n  the  two  nations  seemed  almost  inevita- 
ble, it  was  claimed  extensively  in  the  British  }.ress,  that 
a  large  force  of  gun-hoats  was  in  readiness  at  Montreal  to 
pounce  Ujjon  our  unprotected  Lake  Frontier  and  its  im- 
mense commerci:;!  marine,  at  the  very  commencement  ot 
hostilities.  The  i  xposed  condition  of  the  Frontier  seemed 
to  b"  aj»preciated  by  our  own  Government,  which  notiiied 
the  Governors  of  States,  bordering  on  the  Lakes,  to  1)6 
prepared  to  meet  the  threatened  (hingor. 

It  is  now  a  matter  of  little  m  anent,  whetiier  these 
armed  vessels  were  really  at  Montreal,  in  readiness  for 
the  expected  onslaught,  or  not.  The  fact  that  they  can  be 
thus  concentratv<i  by  the  Fnglish  Government  on  our  bor- 
der, and  suddenly  thrown  upon  our  undefended  Frontier, 
is  patent  to  all,  and  demands  the  innnediate  action  of  our 
Government  in  the  adoption  of  measures  which  will  givo 
reasonable  security  to  the  great  national  interests  thus 
exposed  and  undefended. 


6 


TirE    NIAGARA    SHIP    CANAL 


The  St.  Lawrence  and  Lake  Frontier,  extending  from  a 
point  opposite  Cornwall,  on  the  St.  Lawrence,  in  the  forty- 
lifth  degree  of  latitude,  westward  throngh  the  Lakes  and 
connecting  Rivers,  to  Isle  Royal,  on  the  western  coast  of 
Lake  Superior,  includes  a  shore  line  within  our  territory 
of  more  than  three  thousand  miles,  and  forms  a  navi- 
gable water  boundary  for  eight  of  the  most  important 
States  of  the  Union,  with  an  aggregate  population,  in 
1860,  of  over  nine  millions.  Directly  upon  this  coast, 
and  conveniently  accessible  for  attacks  from  the  water, 
there  are  congregated,  in  cities,  towns  and  villages,  a  pop- 
ulation ui  n;>ar  a  million  of  our  citizens,  surrounded  by 
all  the  '.riiiti  rial  wealth  incident  to  a  high  state  of  a^'ricul- 
tural.  manufacturing  and  commercial  prosperity. 

Fruiu  ri.ese  cities,  and  through  these  Lakes  and  Rivers, 
more  thnn  on."  hundred  millions  of  l)U8hels  of  grain,  in- 
cluding wheat  manufactured  into  flour,  and  other  agricul- 
tural pnxln;  :H  in  proportion,  are  already  distributed  annu- 
ally to  JN'cw  York,  New  England  and  the  Atlantic  cities 
North  ofiiad  including  Baltimore,  for  the  consumption  of 
thos^e  States  and  for  exportation  to  foreign  countries. 

This  vu:^i.  agricultural  production,  yet  literally  in  its 
infaney,  is  curried  forward  on  the  Lakes  by  more  than 
sixteen  hundred  steam  and  sail  vessels,  measuring,  in  the 
aggregiite,  tnll  five  hundred  thousand  tons,  which  return 
westward  fioighted  with  foreign  and  domestic  merchan- 
dize. Tlie  annual  value  of  this  trade  exceeds  four  hun- 
dred millioii?'  of  dollars. 

While  ti:>  Wostward-buund  commorco  is  highly  impor- 
tant to  the  comfort  and  convenience  of  our  Western 
fellow-citizens,  their  agricultural  products  are  indispensa- 
ble to  the  East.  The  arrest  of  this  commerce,  even  for  a 
brief  period,  would  create  a  state  of  suffering  and  desti- 
tution to  the  inhabitants  of  New  York  and  Now  England 
unparalleled  in  the  history  of  our  country.  And  yet,  as 
it  were,  right  under  the  guns  of  a  foreign  nation,  jealous 
of  our  commercial  prosperity  and  increasing  national 
power,  and  constantly  assuming  a  threatoning  attitude  to- 


THR    NIAGARA   8Hir   CANAI.. 


wards  us,  on  the  slightest  pretences,  these  great  municipal 
and  commercial  interests  aro  utterly  unprotected.  We  have 
not  a  fortification  on  the  Frontier  that  a  modern  iron-clad 
gun-boat  cannot  pass  with  impunity  ;  nor  a  city  on  the 
Lakes  that  their  shells  could  not  speedily  lay  in  ashes. 
Our  Government  has  not  sufticicnt  naval  stores,  on  all  the 
Lakes,  to  fit  out  a  single  efficient  vessel  of  war,  and  only 
a  single  vessel  in  commission  of  less  than  a  hundred  tons, 
carrying  a  single  gun,  on  all  the  Upper  Lakes,  and  none 
on  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St.  Lawrence.  As  the  British 
G«vernment  constantly  stands  prepared  for  aggressive 
war  on  the  Lakes,  the  treaty  limiting  her  naval  power, 
except  on  the  six  months'  notice,  is  no  protection  to  us. — 
War  between  nations  ends  their  treaties  ;  and  the  first  bel- 
ligerent act  may  be  the  violation  of  a  treaty  stipulation. 

The  question  naturally  presents  itself,  how  are  these 
great  Frontier  interests  to  be  placed  in  a  condition  of 
greater  security  ?  They  are  National  in  extent  and  gene- 
ral character,  and  have  a  right  to  demand  the  protection 
of  the  General  Gevernment,  whose  Constitutional  duty  it 
is  ^'  to  provide  for  the  general  safety  and  welfare." 

The  proposed  Ship  Canal  is  the  only  link  wanting  to 
give  free  communication  through  and  between  all  the 
great  Lakes  and  the  Eiver  St.  Lawrence,  for  vessels  of 
the  largest  size  navigating  the  Lakes. 

On  the  Upper  Lakes,  the  commercial  marine  is  almost 
cxclusivelv  American  ;  on  Lake  Ontario  and  the  St.  Law- 
rence,  the  preponderance  is  largely  in  favor  of  Canadian 
bottoms.  By  the  cstablisiimont  of  Naval  Depots  on  Lake 
Ontario  and  the  Upper  Lakes,  at  several  points  least  ex- 
posed to  attacks  from  the  Lakes,  the  vessels  engaged  in 
coniinerce,  among  which  are  a  large  number  of  propellers 
of  the  very  first  class,  could  be  speedily  converted  into 
vessels  of  w^ar,  which  a  Ship  Canal  around  the  Falls,  un- 
der American  control,  could  pass  between  the  Upper 
Lakes  and  Luke  Ontario  and  the  St.  Lawrence,  as  the  exi- 
gencies of  the  case  might  require ;  thus  using  the  natural 
excess,  in  time  of  peace,  of  American  tonnage  on  the 


8 


rUK   NIA«iAKA    Smi'    rANAr, 


Upper  I.jikes  not  only  for  the  detVnce  ot'tlios(!  Liikos,  but 
also  for  llio  dcfoncc  ot  Lake  Ontario  and  tlio  St.  Lawrence 
in  time  of  war. 

Tlic  importance  of  lids  commnnication  l)etwi'('n  the 
Lakes  to  the  Nation,  in  case  of  war.  cannot  well  he  over- 
estimated. The  tacility  it  would  ^ive  for  tlie  concentra- 
tion and  ready  condnnation  of  our  naval  and  military  for- 
ces, and  the  transportation  ot  military  stores  through  all 
the  Lakes  ndght,  of  itself,  decide  the  Mar  in  our  favor.  The 
want  of  such  a  commuideation  l)etwecn  the  Lakes,  during 
our  last  war  with  England,  was  a  serious  obstacle  to  the 
success  of  our  arms,  and  t<j  the  proper  j)rotection  of  the 
Frontier. 

Especially  is  it  demantled,  irom  the  fact  that  all  these 
facilities  are  possessed  by  the  English  Government,  within 
her  own  territory,  for  the  transfer  and  concentration  of 
fleets,  arndes  and  munitions  of  war  on  all  the  Lakc^. 
Iler  Canadian  Canals  have  been  constructed,  if  not  ior 
the  express  purpose,  at  least  so  as  to  be  amply  equal  to 
all  her  demands  and  necessities  in  case  of  war  with  the 
United  States.  She  is  prepared  fully  for  such  an  exigency, 
while  our  defenceless  position  almopt  seems  to  invite  ag- 


gression. 


Under  no  other  civilized  government  on  eanh,  are  such 
vast  public  and  private  interests  suftered  to  remain  thus 
exposed  to  destruction — thus  entirely  at  the  mercy  of  an 
unfriendly  [)0wer.  Justice  to  the  inhabitants  of  this  fron- 
tier, and  tlie  interests  of  the  country  at  large,  demand  that 
the  general  government  should  at  once  establish  the  ne- 
cessary Naval  Depots  on  the  Lakes,  and  cauRo  the  Niaga- 
ra Ship  Canal  to  be  constructed,  as  measures  of  urgent 
military  necessity. 

But  important  as  this  measure  of  protection  would  be,, 
in  and  of  itself,  its  usefulness  would  be  incalculably  in- 
creased by  the  proposed  enlargement  of  the  locks  of  the 
Oswego  canal  and  Erie  Canal  east  of  Syracuse,  to  pass  gun- 
boats from  the  Hudson  liiver  to  Lake  Ontario.  This  would 
be  the  shortest  Canal  route  for  vessels  of  war  between 


/ 


THE    NIAOAUA    SHIP    OANAI, 


/ 


f 


our  tide  water  and  the   Lakes,   nnd  by  tar  tli  3  cheapes 
in  constriictio!!. 

When  efHt'ient  v(;ssols  of  war  can  hf  pai?soil  from  the 
Hudson  to  Lake  Ontario,  and  thcTice  throui^h  all  the 
Laki'S  l>y  the  Xiaa^ara  Ship  Canal,  the  inti-n'sts  <<\'  the 
Lake  and  Sr,  Lawrence  Frontier  will  have  littlo  to  nppre- 
iiend  tVoia  toroign  aggression. 

2. — XriB   COJLMKKCIAL   NKCKSSITT    OF   TJIK    OAXAL. 

Urgent  as  is  the  necessity  of  this  great  work  from  mili- 
tary considerations,  its  construction  as  a  clmnnel  of  trade 
between  tlie  North -Western  and  Eastern  States,  including 
New  York,  is  of  little  luss  importance. 

In  the  vear  18G2,  at  least  thirty  milli(»ns  of  bushels  of 
grain,  including  wheat  numiifactured  into  Hour,  to  say 
nothing  ot"  other  agricultural  products  of  Western  States, 
passed  from  the  Upper  Lakes  to  Lake  Ontario  through 
the  Wellaud  Canal,  and  over  Canadian  Railroads,  stretch- 
ing from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  Upi)er  Lakes.  More  than 
three-fourths  of  this  grain  found  its  way  from  Lake  On- 
tario and  the  St.  Lawrence,  through  American  channels, 
to  New  York  and  New  England  ;  near  twenty  millions 
of  it  was  shipped  Eastward  from  Oswego  and  Cape  Vin- 
cent, and  some  five  millions  of  bushels  from  Ogdensburgh 
over  the  Northern  Railroad.  Tiie  return  trade  from  the 
East  to  the  West,  through  these  channels,  for  the  same 
year,  was  correspondingly  large. 

This  commerce  is  annually  increasing  in  niagintude, 
and  becoming  more  and  more  necessary  to  the  develop- 
ment and  prosperity  of  the  great  divisions  of  the  Union 
between  which  it  is  conducted.  The  vessels  bearing  this 
trade  on  the  Lakes  are  entirely  American  ;  and  yet, 
American  as  this  trade  is  in  its  inception  and  destination, 
it  is  all  under  the  direct  control  and  at  the  mercy  of  a 
foreign,  and  that  not  a  friendly  Government.  The  per- 
manency of  the  trade  is  continually  threatened  by  the 
misunderstandings  S'">  otlen  arising  between  that  Govern- 
ment and  our  owp      Already  have  the  Canadian  authori- 


10 


THB    NIAGARA   BHII"    CANAL. 


ticB  80  rogul.ited  tlieir  Canal  tolls  as  to  discriminato  in 
favor  of  vessels  and  cargoes  going  to  Montreal,  for  the 
purpose  of  diverting  the  trade  from  American  to  Canadian 
channels ;  and  the  same  ])Ower  can,  at  any  time,  adopt 
measures  fatal  to  this  commerce,  as  far  as  American  iu- 
tcrcfits  are  involvctl. 

The  proposed  Ship  Canal  would  relieve  this  trade  from 
these  constantly  imj^ending  dangers ;  and  it  is  clearly  the 
duty  of  the  General  Government  to  give  to  so  great  an 
interest  of  her  citizens,  this  measure  of  ])rotection. 

But  if  tliese  dangers  from  ahroad  did  nut  exist,  there 
are  other  conniderations  imporativcly  demanding  the  con- 
struction of  this  great  work. 

The  existing  channels  of  transportation  hetween  the 
Lakes  and  tide  water  are  not  largo  enough  to  meet  the 
present  demands  of  the  trade.  A  committee  of  the  New 
York  Legislature  reported,  in  April  last,  "that  during  a 
considerable  portion  of  the  last  three  years,  the  enlarged 
Canals  have  been  taxed  to  their  utmost  capacity,  not  from 
deficiency  in  its  main  trunk,  but  from  the  impossibility  of 
passing  more  boats  through  the  locks  ;  and  it  is  notorious, 
that  the  Railroads,  connecting  the  East  with  the  West, 
except  for  a  brief  period  in  summer,  cannot  carry  forward 
the  freight  offering  for  transportation  to  the  sea-board. 

The  annual  increase  of  agricultural  products  of  the 
States  tributary  to  these  Railroads  and  Canals,  for  the 
last  five  years,  has  not  been  less  than  twenty  per  cent.; 
and  all  the  elements  of  this  wonderful  development  of  ag- 
ricultural production,  promise  to  continue  in  operation 
for  many  years  to  come.  Not  a  tenth  part  of  the  knd  is 
yet  occupied.  Foreign  and  domestic  emigration  is  bring- 
ing it  rapidly  under  cultivation,  and  Railroads  are  being 
extended  in  all  directions  for  the  transportation  of  their 
increasing  products  to  the  Western  Lake  cities.  Without 
new  and  larger  channels  for  these  products  to  our  markets, 
their  production  must  be  checked  by  the  onerous  rates  of 
transportation  always  charged  on  over-burdened  channels 
of  trade.   The  inevitable  result  must  be  a  limitation  of  this 


THE    NIAOA.RA    SHIP    CANAL. 


11 


producti(>n,  or  the  opening  of  now  channels  for  its  accom- 
modation. 

So  great  is  tlic  ncccpsity  felt  at  the  West  tur  more  un<I 
larger  outlets  to  the  Atlantic  for  their  rajndly  increasing 
agricultiiral  products,  that  the  Illinois  and  Wisconsin  Lcg- 
islaturo'-.  last  winter,  appointed  a  deputation  of  her  most  in- 
telligt'!  '  and  influential  citizens  to  visit  the  (,'anadian  au- 
thorities, and  urge  upon  them  the  enlargement  of  the  Wel- 
land  C'anal,  and  the'early  construction  of  the  proposed  canal 
between  the  Georgian  Bay  and  ^Montreal.  This  project  con- 
templates a  slack-water  navigation  for  the  largest  vessels 
navigating  the  Lakes  through  the  Ottawa  and  French 
Rivers,  and  will  bring  the  Straits  of  Mackinaw,  and  con- 
sequently the  city  of  Chicago,  nearer  to  Alontreal  than 
they  now  are,  V)y  the  svater  route,  to  the  city  of  Buffalo. 
The  an?ic\-ed  Map.  No.  2,  exhibits  the  line  of  this  proposed 
work,  according  to  the  survey  of  Walter  Shanky,  Esq.. 
made  by  order  of  the  Canadian  Board  of  Public  Works. 
It  commences  at  the  mouth  of  the  French  liiver  on  ihe 
Georgian  Bay,  200  miles  east  of  Mackinaw,  and  thei^  o  up 
that  river,  and  through  Lake  Nipissing  and  its  tributary, 
the  River  De  Voce,  and  thence  by  a  cut  of  less  than  one 
mile  to  the  waters  of  the  Ottawa,  and  down  that  river  to 
Montreal  ;  a  distance  in  all  from  the  mouth  of  the  French 
river  of  430  miles,  and  from  Chicago  to  Montreal  of  980 
miles. 

The  distance  from  Chicago  to  Buffalo,  by  the  Lakes,  is 
variously  estimated  at  from  950  to  1050  miles.  We  as- 
sume the  distance  to  1)0  1000  miles,  which  cannot  be  fiir 
from  the  truth.  This  would  bring  the  city  of  Chicago,  by 
the  Ottawa  route,  20  miles  nearer  to  Montreal  than  she  is 
by  the  Lakes  to  Buffiilo  ;  and  515  miles  nearer  to  Montre- 
al than  she  is,  by  the  Lakes,  the  Erie  Canal  and  the  Hud- 
son River,  to  the  city  of  New  York. 

Of  the  430  miles  between  the  mouth  of  French  River  and 
Montreal,  only  58  miles  will  be  canal,  divided  into  sections 
varying  from  one  to  eight  miles  in  length — the  remaining 
372  miles  being  inland  Lake,  and  slack-water  River  navi- 


•Mm 


12  THE   NIAGARA    SHIP    CANAL. 

gation,  admirably  adapted  to  tlie  use  of  steam  vessels,  and 
to  the  towing  uf  freight  barges  by  steam. 

With  thib  Canal  constructed,  we  shall  require  the  cheap- 
est possible  communication  between  the  Lakes  and  our 
Atlantic  ciliis,  to  maintain  the  ascendancy  wo  now  hold 
in  this  great  internal  trade. 

The  IS'iagara  Ship  Canal,  and  the  proposed  further  en- 
largement of  the  locks  of  the  Oswego  and  L'rie('aiials,would 
not  oidy  relieve  the  Western  trade  from  existing  embarrass- 
ments, but  provide  amply  for  its  demands  for  greater  ca 
pacity  of  transportation  ;  and  at  the  same  time  secure  a 
lower  cost  of  transportation  between  the  Lakes  and  tide- 
water, than  bv  anv  other  route. 

Let  us  examine  this  point  brieliy  : 

The  most  reliable  data  we  have,  shewing  the  actiuil  cost 
of  trauKportotion  by  different  modes  of  conveyance,  are 
tlK)se  furnished  by  the  Hon.  AY.  J.  McAlpine,  late  State 
Engineer  of  the  State  of  JSIew  York,  in  his  Rei'ort  to  the 
Legislature,  on  Kailroads,  in  1855. 

From  this  data  Mr.  McAlpine  deduced  the  following 
results  : 

Tlie  i;ost  of  transportatiun  per  ton,  per  mile  is —  Mills. 

On  the  Ocean,  long  voya2,e It 

"  ''         "       sliort  voyage 2^    to  G 

"  "    Lakes,    long         "       2 

"  "         "         short     "       ;i      to  4 

"  "    Iludsoi.  .  : . --r, «.} 

*'  "    Mississipj)i  and  St.  T.nwronoe, 3 

"  "    Erie  Canal,  (enlarged). 4 

"  "    Ordinary  Canals, 5 

"  ''    Kailroads,  (ordinary  grarles). 12|  to  \'6\ 

Now,  the  distance  by  the  Lake  from  Chicago  to 
Buffalo,  is  one  thousand  miles ;  and  the  actual  cost 
of  transporting  a  ton  of  freight,  accortling  to  the  estimate 
of  Mr.  J? -Alpine,  is  two  mills  per  ton  per  mile,  or — 


THE    NIAOAKA    811  iP    CANAL.  13 

For  a  ton  of  freight  from  Ohioago  to  Hiirtalo, $2  00 

The  distance  from  EulTalo  to  Troy,  is  o4.")  miles,  which,  at  four 
mills  per  t/»n  per  mile,  makes  the  cost  of  tran6])ortinp:  a  ton 

from  Buffalo  to  Troy, 1  38 

Add  Carnal  Tolls,  at  three  mills  per  1,000  lbs.  per  mile, 2  07 

Cost  of  transportation  per  ton,  on   tlio    Ilmlson,  at  two  and  a 

half  mills  per  mile. ;57| 

Making  the  whole  co-t.  inchiding  Canal  tolls,  of  transiiorting  J 

a  ton  of  wheat  or  Hour  from   CliiiMgu  to  New  York,  via  V. "if 5  82^ 
Buflalo  and  tlio  Erie  Canal, ) 

Cost  via  the  i!!^iagara  Ship  Canal  and  Lake  Ontario:  — 

The  distnncc  from  Chicago  to  Oswego,  via  the  proposed  Ship  Canal, 
would  be  eleven  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  whicli.  at  two  mills  per 
ton  per  mile,  would  be, 'H;2  .*)G 

The  distance  from  Oswego  to  Troy,  by  * 'anal,  is  one  hundred 
and  eighty-seven  miles,  which,  at  four  mills  per  ton  per 
mile,  for  transportation,  would  lie, 74. J 

Add  Canal  tolls,  at  three  mills  per  one  thousand  pounds  ])er 

mile,  on  wheat  or  lloin\ 1   12.2 

Freight  on  Hudson  River  at  2^  mills  per  ton  per  mile, 37.5 

Add  Niagara  Ship  Canal  expenses,  per  ton, 20 

Making  the  cost  of  transporting  a  ton  of  wheat  or  flour  from  ^ 

Chicago  to  New  York,  via  the  proposed  Ship  Canal  ami  v.<j!4  80.2 
T^ake  ( >ntario, 3 

The  above  statement  bhuws  a  dilfercnei'  '\n  favor  of  the 
Niagara  Ship  Canal  ronte  o\'  !?1  02  on  a  ton  of  -wheat  or 
flour  from  Chicago  to  JSew  Y'>rk. 

In  arrivlnir  at  this  result,  the  same  rate  of  freiii-ht  is 
charged  on  the  comparatively  short  Lake  voyage  from 
Chicago  to  Buffalo,  as  is  charged  ou  the  longer  Lake  voy- 
age from  ChicagK  to  Oswego,  when,  on  the  principle  of 
Mr.  McAlpine's  data,  it  should  be  from  a  (piarter  of  a 
mill  to  half  a  mill  per  ton  per  mile  higher.  Then, 
again,  the  tiuie  required  is  assumed  to  bo  the  same  on  the 
two  routes  ;  when  by  propellers,  or  other  steam  vessels, 
there  would  be  at  least  two  and  a  half  days  saved  in  time 
by  the  Niagara  Canal  route. 

But  the  prices  of  transportation  between  the  Western 
States  and  tide  water  would  not  only  be  reduced  by  the 
greater  cheapness  of  the  Ship  Canal  route,  as  abort 


MHI 


u 


I  UK    NIAGARA    SHIP    CANAL. 


eliowii,  but  also  l>y  the  competition,  which  a  now  cbaiinei 
for  any  tradt;,  always  creates  and  sustains  ;  and  hence, 
the  benefits  of  lower  rates  of  transportation  would  not  be 
conlined  to  the  property  passing  through  this  new  chan- 
nel, but  all  other  channels  between  the  P]ast  and  West 
would  be  compelled  to  reduce  their  prices  on  through- 
freight,  so  as  to  conform,  or  nearly  so,  tt>  the  prices 
charged  by  the  cheaper  channels.  What  the  aggregate 
saving  would  be  aii'.iually  to  the  Western  States^  it  is  dit- 
ticult  to  estimate  with  accuracy  ;  but  that  it  would  be 
numbered  by  millions  of  dollars,  is  beyond  a  duubt. 

The  two  prominent  objections  urged  in  opposition  to 
this  Canal  are — First,  that  the  trade  of  the  Upper  Lakes 
if  let  down  to  Lake  Ontario,  will  pass  oji  to  Montreal,  and 
thus  be  diverted  from  our  own  Atlantic  cities.  And 
secondly,  that  If  it  was  not  so  diverted  to  Montreal,  but 
passed  on  from  Lake  Ontario  to  the  Hudson,  through  the 
Oswego  and  Erie  Canals,  and  over  the  Xorthern  Railroad 
from  Ogdensburgh  to  the  States  of  Maine,  Vermont,  New 
Hampshire  and  Ma8sacliusett8,  it  would  deprive  the  State 
of  New  York  of  a  large  amount  of  tolls,  which  she  would 
realize  if  the  trade  were  forced  through  the  n'hole  length 
of  the  Erie  Canal. 

The  answer  to  the  first  objection  is,  that  a  h^rge  trade 
from  the  Upper  Lakes,  through  Lake  Ontario,  has  been 
going  on  for  many  years,  and  that  in  -re  than  three-fourths 
of  it  has  passed  on,  through  American  ciiannels,  from  Os- 
wego, Capo  Vincent  and  Ogdensburgh  to  the  sea-board, 
or  for  consumption  in  the  interiov  u*"  the  New  England 
States  and  the  State  of  New  York. 

There  is  no  good  reason  why  the  course  of  this  trade 
should  differ,  in  the  future,  from  wliat  it  has  been  in  the 
past,  unless  influenced  by  Canadian  legislation,  against 
which  the  Niagara  Ship  Canal  would  fully  protect  it. 
It  is  evident  that  the  nearer  the  large  Lake  vessel  can  ap- 
proach tide  water  on  the  Hudson,  the  more  surely  will 
onr  Atlantic  cities  control  the  trade  as  against  Canadian, 
competition. 


TUE    NIAUAKA    SHIP    CANAL. 


ia 


As  to  the  second  objection,  the  loss  of  tolls  to  the  State 
of  New  York,  the  apprehension  is  not  well-founded  ;  and 
if  it  was,  it  would  not  be  a  valid  objection  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  Ship  Canal. 

No  State  can  expect  to  stand  in  a  great  highway  of 
the  nation  and  levy  tolls  upon  the  products  of  her  sister 
States,  beyond  the  amount  necessary  to  defray  the  super- 
intendence and  repairs  of  the  work  she  may  construct  for 
its  accommodation,  and  the  creation  of  a  sinking  fund  to 
refund  the  cost  of  its  construction  within  a  reasonable  pe- 
riod. For  commercial  objects,  channels  of  trade  are  bonds 
of  union  between  States  and  Nations  When  their  main  ob- 
ject is  the  accumulation  of  revenue  beyond  the  limits  above 
prescribed,  they  become  subjects  of  discord  and  strife. — 
The  Canals  of  New  York  between  the  Lakes  and  tide-wa- 
ter, as  heretofore  stated,  are  tilled  to  uvertl owing,  and  the 
business  seeking  them  constantly  increasing  ;  and  no  rea- 
sonable doubt  can  exist  that  the  State  will  always  ob- 
tain all  the  tolls  slie  can  justly  levy  upon  the  productions 
and  consumption  of  tiie  AVestern  States. 

The  best  interests  of  the  country  demand  the  chcapes 
possible  transportation  between  the  interior  and  the  Atlan- 
tic coast.  This  would  be  oi)taiucd  between  the  Lake  coun- 
try and  tide  water  by  the  Niagara  Ship  Canal.  It  would 
relieve  us  from  all  apprehension  of  the  diversion  of  any 
considerable  portion  of  this  trade  fj'om  our  own  commer- 
cial cities.  It  would  create  a  new  bond  of  union  between 
the  East  and  West,  and  forever  secure  the  military  and 
commercial  ascendancy  on  the  great  Lakes,  to  the  Govern- 
ment and  citizens  of  the  United  States. 


